Nationwide unrest continues for sixth night in France following fatal shooting of Nahel Merzouk
Monday, July 3, 2023
Unrest over the police shooting of Nahel Merzouk, a 17-year-old of Algerian and Moroccan descent during a Tuesday traffic stop in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris, continued in France last night for the sixth consecutive night. The protests have seen arrests — 157 last night — injuries, and damage to schools, police stations, town halls, and stores.
Today, a 24-year-old Paris firefighter died extinguishing a fire in a subterranean car park.
President Emmanuel Macron earlier held a crisis meeting and deployed additional police forces, but refrained from declaring a state of emergency. Macron appealed to parents to keep their children at home and urged social media platforms to remove content related to the unrest.
Macron condemned the shooting and the unrest and called for the latter's end, as did Merzouk's grandmother.
Under formal investigation for voluntary homicide and in jail, an officer who admitted to shooting Merzouk claimed he aimed for Merzouk's leg but accidentally fired a lethal shot toward the boy's chest.
The United Nations' human rights office demanded France address any racism in its law enforcement.
Sister links
Sources
- Tassilo Hummel. "France riots: Night of relative calm but tensions persist" — Reuters, July 3, 2023
- Alisha Rahaman Sarkar, Maryam Zakir-Hussain. "France riots – live: Paris protests ease as family of teen killed in shooting makes desperate plea to rioters" — The Independent, July 3, 2023
- Sam Hancock. "France shooting: Macron accuses rioters of exploiting teen killed by police" — BBC News, June 30, 2023
- Angelique Chrisafis. "A monument to French rage: buses torched in riots over police killing" — The Guardian, June 30, 2023
- Layli Foroudi, Noemie Olive. "France unrest: Third night of riots after police shoot teen, officer charged" — Reuters, June 29, 2023